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Judgment
Harsha Devani, J.—This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed with the following substantive prayers :-
(a) This Honourable Court be pleased to issue appropriate writ, direction or order directing the respondents to permit conversion of shipping bills of the petitioners from their shipping bills to DEPB shipping bills;
(b) This Honourable Court be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing them to issue DEPB licences on the basis of the shipping bills already filed or on the basis of such converted shipping bills, irrespective of 31-3-2004 deadline.
(c) This Honourable Court be pleased to direct the respondents, their officers, servants and agents to work out DEPB entitlement of the petitioners on the basis of shipping bills and issue them DEPB licences accordingly.
(d) This Honourable Court be pleased to direct the respondents to process the applications for conversion of shipping bills made by the petitioners in accordance with the circulars of the Board in force at the time of making the applications.
Heard Mr. Devan Parikh, learned advocate for the petitioner and Ms. Amee Yajnik, learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondents.
From the reliefs prayed for in the petition, it is apparent that the principal relief sought for is by way of a direction to the respondents to permit conversion of free shipping bills of the petitioner to DEPB shipping bills. The other reliefs prayed for are consequential to the grant of the principal relief.
Mr. Devan Parikh, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner has invited attention to the application made by the petitioner to the Commissioner of Customs, Kandla seeking conversion of free shipping bills as indicated in the statement attached along with the application into shipping bills of DEPB scheme, to submit that till date the aforesaid application has not been decided by the respondents.
Ms. Amee Yajnik learned senior standing counsel for the respondent is not able to dispute the aforesaid position.
Thus, it is an undisputed position that though the petitioner has made an application to the Commissioner of Customs, Kandla seeking conversion of free shipping bills to DEPB shipping bills, the same remains undecided till date. Once an application is made to the Commissioner, he is required to consider the same in accordance with law and decide the same one way or the other.
Though an affidavit has been filed by the respondents opposing the petition, the Court does not deem it fit to enter into merits of the rival contentions raised on behalf of the respective parties. Since the petitioner has made an application for conversion of shipping bills into DEPB shipping bills, the respondent No. 2 Commissioner is duty bound to decide the same.
In the aforesaid circumstances, the petition is disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 2-Commissioner of Customs, Kandla, to decide the application made by the petitioner for conversion of free shipping bills to DEPB shipping bills (Annexure A to the petition), in accordance with law within a period of six weeks from today, after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Rule is discharged with no order as to costs.
Direct service is permitted.